Lethbridge preparing for future without commercial flights - BERITAJA

Lethbridge Airport was erstwhile location to respective airlines, but that yet dwindled to Air Canada and WestJet.

Now, only WestJet remains, but moreover it will beryllium exiting the metropolis later this month.

With nary commercialized airlines, the head of Lethbridge Airport isn’t excessively concerned about the early of his site.

“It is rather engaged extracurricular of scheduled rider traffic, truthful we want to proceed to support that and those businesses,” said Cameron Prince, airdrome manager.

According to him, WestJet only made up about 2 per cent of aerial postulation astatine the location hub.

“On mean successful 2025, we were seeing about 100 movements a day. That’s formation training, medevacs, charter flights, agriculture – for illustration harvest dusting, things for illustration that,” said Prince.

The last time of flights for WestJet successful Lethbridge will beryllium June 23. The institution cited a driblet successful request for why they chose to propulsion retired of the city.

Despite the nonaccomplishment of the commercialized carrier, Prince says nary City of Lethbridge labor astatine the airdrome are group to suffer their jobs.

“We’re moving done attrition astatine the moment. We really had a retiree, truthful we’re not backfilling positions arsenic they go, necessarily, but we’re not looking astatine removing astatine this point, anyways.”

He says the metropolis is looking into leasing onshore connected airdrome spot arsenic a measurement to recoup the about $500,000 generated annually by WestJet.

“The metropolis owns the airdrome lands. How airports mostly activity is they clasp onto that onshore and lease that retired to businesses. That’s really you could usage those revenues to offset the costs of maintaining the airdrome itself.”

While this method could boost gross successful the aftermath of WestJet’s last departure, Prince says caller airlines could soon take to get successful confederate Alberta.

“We are successful talks pinch airlines beautiful consistently correct now and I will opportunity we are optimistic location will beryllium thing successful the future. We’re conscionable not judge what the timeline will beryllium for that because hose web readying does return a batch of time.”

The City of Lethbridge says it will proceed to negociate operating costs successful statement pinch activity levels complete time.